Article handling machine



- Oct. 16, 1962 J. A. HANSEN 3,058,570

ARTICLE HANDLING MACHINE Filed May 15, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet l h N I 8i N N a 8 rk N I m I INVENTOR- 5 JOHN ANDRE W HANSEN Oct. 16, 1962 J. A. HANSEN ARTICLE HANDLING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 15, 1961 47' TOR/VEY Oct. 16, 1962 J. A. HANSEN 3,058,570

ARTICLE HANDLING MACHINE Filed May 15, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. fi- JOH/V ANDREW HANSEN United States Patent Gil-ice Patented Oct. 16, 1962 This invention relates to an article handling machine and more particularly to mechanism for dividing a single row of moving cartons or other articles into two parallel rows. In the embodiment of the invention herein shown and described, the articles are cartons each containing six cans, but obviously other packages and articles varying as to size and dimensions may be handled by the machine, and it is to be understood that when cartons are mentioned herein this term includes other packages and articles.

The object of the invention is to provide mechanism which is simple in construction, speedy and dependable in operation, for diverting a carton from a moving single row of such cartons to one of two parallel rows located forwardly of and to the right and left, respectively, of the single row. Cartons are diverted, alternately, first one to the right and then a following carton to the left, to form two parallel rows, moving longitudinally and usually, but not necessarily, in the direction of the single row.

The carton diverting mechanism of my invention comprises a pair of coaxial, continuously rotating cam wheels which alternately lift a carton in the traveling single row and tilt it sidewise, whereupon the tilted carton autornatically slides laterally downwardly by gravity on a stationary inclined plate to one of two traveling conveyors adapted to carry the two rows of cartons from the machine for subsequent packaging operations. The diverting of the cartons from their single row arrangement is achieved without subjecting them to frictional resistance such as exists when a package is pushed laterally on a horizontally disposed supporting surface.

Each carton is subjected only to a brief lifting and tilting action, the rest of the diverting movement from the single row conveyor to one of the two double rows being automatic. The absence of pivotally moving or oscillating mechanism such as employed in prior art row-dividers has enabled me to speed the operation of my machine to a very substantial degree. When handling cartons known as 6 paks, approximately 8 inches long, /2 inches wide and 5 inches high, this machine diverts 180 to 200 cartons per minute.

Other advantages of the invention will be apparent from the drawings and following specification.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of an article handling machine embodying my invention, showing parts of a carton delivering conveyor and of a receiving conveyor at opposite ends of the machine.

FIG. 2 is an elevational side view of the article handling machine of FIG. 1 without the delivering and receiving conveyors.

FIG. 3 is a transverse vertical sectional view in the plane of the line 3-3 of FIG. 2, showing the carton lifting cam wheels in the positions they occupy when the right hand wheel is diverting a carton toward the left of the single row.

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing the carton lifting cam wheels in the positions they occupy when the left hand wheel is diverting a carton toward the right of the single row.

FIG. 5 is an elevational side view, on an enlarged scale, of one of the two cam wheels detached from the rest of the machine.

FIGS. 6, 7, 8 and 9 are transverse sectional views, en larged, in the planes of the lines 6-6, 7-7, 88 and 9-9, respectively, of FIG. 5.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings, the article handling machine comprises a frame having integral vertical side members 10-, horizontal table portions 11 and upturned parallel members 12, the frame being mounted on a base 13. A pair of parallel endless conveyors 14, 15, preferably made of rib top belting, are spaced apart laterally and supported on pulleys 16, 17 mounted on shafts 18, 19, respectively, to travel in horizontal planes above and below the table portions 11 of the frame at opposite sides of the upturned frame members 12.

A V-belt 20 is supported on a grooved pulley wheel 21 mounted on shaft 22 and a larger pulley wheel 23 mounted on shaft 24. Between the said pulley wheels 21, 23, the upper lap of the V-belt 20 travels in a longitudinally channeled member 25 which has a depending laterally widened portion 26 connected by screws 27 to the frame. The plane in which the upper lap of the V-belt 20 travels is raised relatively to the conveyors 1'4, 15, as shown 'in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4.

The sides of the channel member 25 are grooved longitudinally at 28, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, to receive edges of projections 29 on the upper edges of stationary oppositely inclined plates 30, 31, which extend downwardly to near the upper surfaces of the conveyors 14, '1-5, respectively. The inclined plates 30, 31 are connected to frame members by screws 32. The upper edges of the plates 30, 31, to the left of the projections 29 as viewed in FIG. 1, are spaced from the V-belt supporting member 25 to accommodate a pair of coaxial cam wheels 35, 36.

The cam wheels 35, 36 are connected coaxially by a hub 37 fixed on a horizontal shaft 38 rotatably mounted in the frame 10. The cam wheels are alike, each having a peripheral eccentric lifting surface indicated as a whole at 40 and a peripheral concentric non-lifting surface indicated as a whole at 41. The wheels 35, 36 are so mounted on the hub 37 that the peripheral lifting surfaces 40 of the two wheels are 180 degrees apart. The lifting surface 40 extends about degrees circumferentially of each wheel, the radii of the wheel increasing gradually from the area 42 adjacent the section line 6-6 to the area 43 adjacent section line 77 to the area 44 adjacent the section line 88 on FIG. 5. In the area 42 the peripheral surface is concentric and extends at right angles to the side faces of the cam wheel and to the vertical plane in which the wheel rotates, as shown in FIG. 6. In the area 43, the peripheral surface is non-concentric and is slightly beveled as shown in FIG. 7; and in the area 44, the peripheral surface is eccentric, and more sharply beveled as shown in FIG. 8. The peripheral surface area 45 to the left of the lifting area 44 in FIG. 5 is a non-working concentric surface. The area designated 41 as a whole extends circumferentially about degrees around the wheel on a smaller radius than the adjacent areas 42, 45, and is beveled transversely as shown in FIG. 9, the inclination being in the direction opposite that of the areas 43, 44.

As shown in FIG. 3, when the lifting surface 44 of cam wheel 36 is in its uppermost or working position, the corresponding peripheral surface 44 of cam wheel 35 is in its lowermost or non-working position. At the same time, the beveled surface 41 on the smaller radius portion of wheel 35 is substantially flush with the inclined portion of the channel member 25 and adjacent upper surface of the projection 29 of inclined plate 30, so not to interfere with movement of a carton on the plate.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the lifting surface 44 of cam wheel 35 is in its uppermost or working position, the corresponding peripheral surface of cam wheel 36 is in its lowermost or non-working position. At the same time, the beveled surface 41 on the smaller radius portion of wheel 36 is substantially flush with the inclined portion of the channel member 25 and adjacent upper surface of the projection 29 of inclined plate 31, so not to interfere with movement of a carton on the plate.

When the flat peripheral area 42 of one of the cam wheels is in the uppermost position, it is substantially flush with the upper surface of the V-belt 20, in position to engage an approaching carton on the belt and to begin the lifting operation as the wheel rotates clockwise.

Cartons 50 are indicated by broken lines. At the left end of FIG. 1, a carton 50 is supported on a traveling delivering conveyor 51 in a horizontal plane flush with the top of the channel member 25 and V-belt 2%. The cartons are arranged in a single row while on conveyor 51. At the right of FIG. 1, a wider two-row receiving conveyor 52 located in a horizontal plane flush with conveyors 14, 15, is arranged to receive cartons from said conveyors 14, 15, in two rows.

The delivering conveyor 51 is driven by a pulley (not shown) on shaft 53 operatively connected by sprocket 54 and roller chain 55 to a sprocket 56 on cam wheel shaft 38. The shaft 53 also is operatively connected by sprocket 57 and roller chain 58 to sprocket 5% on shaft 24 which drives the V-belt pulley 23. The shaft 19 is operatively connected by sprocket 65 and roller chain 61 to the sprocket 62 on shaft 63. The latter is driven by the driving means (not shown) which actuates conveyor 52. The operative connections between the several shafts are proportioned to rotate said shafts at predetermined speeds whereby the motion of the several conveyors and the rotation of the cam wheels are properly correlated.

The operation of the carton handling machine is as follows: Cartons 59 arranged in a single row are moved by the conveyor 51 toward the right to be engaged on their bottoms by the moving V-belt 2%. As the first carton 50 reaches the area where the -cam wheels 35, 36 are accessible adjacent the channel member 25, said first carton is engaged on its bottom by the peripheral area 42 of rotating cam wheel 36, then progressively by areas 43 and 44 whereby the carton is lifted and tilted toward the left as shown in FIG. 3, whereupon it slides by gravity automatically down the plate 36 onto the conveyor 14. As the second carton 50 reaches the area where the cam wheels 35, 36 are accessible, said second carton is engaged on its bottom by the peripheral area 42 of rotating cam wheel 35, then progressively by areas 43, 44, whereby the carton is lifted and tilted toward the right as shown in FIG. 4, whereupon it slides by gravity automatically down the plate 31 onto conveyor 15. This operation is repeated continuously, the conveyors 14 and 15 carrying the cartons in two rows to the receiving conveyor 52.

The cam Wheels 35, 36 are located so that they engage the bottom surfaces of cartons St? to the right or left of their longitudinal centers, and tilt the cartons laterally toward the opposite side of the said center, thus insuring diversion of cartons alternately to one or the other of the parallel conveyors '14, 15.

Changes may be made in details of construction and in the form and arrangement of parts without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An article handling machine for dividing a single row of moving articles into two rows, comprising a pair of cam wheels coaxially fixed on a rotating shaft, each wheel having a peripheral eccentric transversely beveled article lifting and tilting surface, a plate inclined downwardly and outwardly laterally adjacent each cam wheel in position .to receive tilted articles from the other wheel, and a conveyor beneath each inclined plate for receiving articles from said plates.

2. The article handling machine defined by claim 1,

in which the article lifting and tilting surfaces of the cam wheels are located 180 degrees from each other.

3. The article handling machine defined by claim I, in which the article lifting and tilting surface of each cam wheel extends circumferentially about degrees of the wheel' periphery, and the diametrically opposite peripheral area of the wheel is beveled laterally, the inclination being in a direction opposite that of the beveled lifting and tilting surface.

4. The article handling machine defined by claim 1, in which the article lifting and tilting surface of each cam wheel is located on a larger radii portion of the wheel than the diametrically opposite portion of the wheel.

5. The article handling machine defined by claim 1, in which each cam wheel comprises a larger radii portion on which the eccentric lifting and tilting peripheral surface is located and a smaller radius portion having a concentric peripheral surface beveled laterally in a direction opposite that of the beveled lifting and tilting surface; the said concentric peripheral surface of one wheel being substantially flush with the adjacent inclined plate when the eccentric peripheral surface of the other wheel is in article lifting and tilting position.

6. The article handling machine defined by claim 1, in which each cam wheel is located laterally of the longitudinal center line of the single row of articles to engage the bottom of an article at one side of center and to tilt said article to the opposite side.

7. An article handling machine for dividing a single row of moving articles into two parallel rows, comprising a frame having a horizontal table portion, an endless belt carrying a single row of articles in a plane above and spaced from the table portion of the frame, a pair of cam wheels coaxially fixed on a rotated shaft extending transversely of the frame, said belt traveling between proximate sides of said pair of cam wheels, each of the wheels having a peripheral eccentric beveled surface for engaging, lifting and laterally tilting an article in the single row, a plate inclined downwardly and outwardly laterally adjacent each cam Wheel in position to receive tilted articles from the other Wheel, and a pair of parallel conveyors, one between the lower edge of each inclined plate and the table portion of the frame for receiving articles from said plates.

8. The article handling machine defined by claim 7, in which the cam wheels are connected together by an intermediate hub and the article lifting and tilting surfaces of the cam wheels are located degrees from each other.

9. The article handling machine defined by claim 7, in which the article lifting and tilting surface of each cam wheel extends circumferentially about 90 degrees of the wheel periphery, and the diametrically opposite peripheral area of the wheel is beveled laterally, the inclination being in a direction opposite that of the beveled lifting and tilting surface.

10. The article handling machine defined by claim 7, in which each carn wheel comprises a larger radii portion on which the eccentric lifting and tilting peripheral surface is located and a smaller radius portion having a concentric peripheral surface beveled laterally in a direction opposite that of the beveled lifting and tilting surface; the said concentric peripheral surface of one wheel being substantially flush with the adjacent inclined plate when the eccentric peripheral surface of the other wheel is in article lifting and tilting position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 20,876 Molins Oct. 4, 1938 1,475,962 Olson Dec. 4, 1923 FOREIGN PATENTS 771,474 France Oct. 9, 1934 

